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Lord Herdmanston

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Arms of Lord Herdmanston, recorded in the 14th century Gelre Armorial: Argent, a cross engrailed azure.[1]
Arms of Lord Herdmanston, recorded in the 19th century: Argent, a cross engrailed sable.[2]

Lord Herdmanston was a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was held by the Sinclair or St Clair family.

History

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Herdmanston in East Lothian had been held from the 12th century, when Henry St Clair received a grant of the lands of Herdmanston, from Richard de Morville, Constable of Scotland.[3] It is not known if the Sinclair Lords Herdmanston share a common origin with the Sinclair Barons of Roslin,[4] from whom branch off the Lords Sinclair and Earls of Caithness.[5] According to the website sinclairgenealogy.info, the fact that the first proven Baron of Roslin, William St. Clair (died 1297) was made sheriff of Haddington in East Lothian where Herdmanston also is, suggests that he was appointed there to cover his own home area, and given that the name William appears frequently in the St Clair of Herdmanston family suggests that he may have been part of their extended family.[6] However, according to the website clansinclairusa.org, William St Clair of Roslin was probably unrelated to the St Clairs of Herdmanston.[7] According to Archibald Allan writing in 1900, Henry St Clair of Herdmanston appears to have been a son of the first William de St Clair of Roslin of the 11th century,[5] but this William's existence cannot be proved by contemporary evidence and according to Roland Saint-Clair, William St. Clair who died in 1297 was the first proven Baron of Roslin.[8]

The Sinclairs of Herdmanston are recorded by James Balfour Paul in his The Scots Peerage.[9] They are also recorded by Bernard Burke in his a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire,[10] and by 18th century herald, Alexander Nisbet, in his A System of Heraldry.[11] The coat of arms of the Sinclair of Herdmanston family is similar to that of the Lord Sinclair, but the tincture of the cross was changed from azure to sable.[2]

Lords Herdmanston

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Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century lists the following Lords Herdmanston:[4]

References

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  1. ^ McAndrew, Bruce (2006). Scotland's Historic Heraldry. Ipswich: Boydell Press. p. 189. ISBN 1-84383-261-5.
  2. ^ a b Woodward, John (1896). A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign : with English and French Glossaries. Edinburgh and London: W. & A.K. Johnston. p. 11. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  3. ^ Maclean-Sinclair, Rev. A (1901). The Sinclairs of Roslin, Caithness and Goshen. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: The Examiner Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014.
  4. ^ a b Saint-Clair, Roland (1898). The Saint-Clairs of the Isles; being a history of the Sea-kings of Orkney and their Scottish successors of the sirname of Sinclair. Shortland Street, Auckland, New Zealand: H. Brett. p. 311-316. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b Allan, Archibald (1900). History of Channelkirk. 54 and 55 South Bridge, Edinburgh: James Thin. p. 72. Retrieved 18 July 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ^ "Scotland". sinclairgenealogy.info. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Origins of the Sinclairs in Scotland" (PDF). clansinclairusa.org. p. 2. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  8. ^ Saint-Clair, Roland William (1898). The Saint-Clairs of the Isles; being a history of the sea-kings of Orkney and their Scottish successors of the sirname of Sinclair. Auckland, New Zealand: H. Brett. pp. 278-284. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  9. ^ Paul, James Balfour (1910). The Scots Peerage; Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of that Kingdom. Vol. VII. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 577-592. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  10. ^ Burke, Bernard (1869). Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. 59 Pall Mall, London: Harrison. p. 1016-1018. Retrieved 21 June 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ Nisbet, Alexander (1816). A System of Heraldry. Vol. II. Princes Street, Edinburgh and New Bond Street, London: William Blackwood and Rodwell & Martin. pp. 322-323. Retrieved 21 June 2021.